Arne Duncan (red tie), U.S. Education Secretary, greets well wishers at the annual convention of the National Alliance of Black School Educators at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN, Thursday, November 19, 2009. (Robert Scheer/The Indianapolis Star)(Photo: Robert Scheer)Buy Photo

NASHVILLE – The U.S. Secretary of Education said the problems with Indiana's waiver from federal education rules are fixable but it will take leadership from Glenda Ritz, the state superintendent of public instruction.

Arne Duncan was asked during a conference here Tuesday about his faith that Ritz and her department of education could carry out a series of reforms that that are required for the waiver.

"This is not about faith. Indiana has some challenges. We strongly want them to keep the waiver," said Duncan, the keynote speaker at the Education Writers Association's national meeting. "This is solvable, resolvable but it's going to take some hard work and leadership on their part."

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education made Indiana's waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law conditional on correcting problems found during a federal monitoring visit last year.

At jeopardy is the flexibility of using more than $250 million in annual federal funds for Indiana schools. Without the waiver schools would also face increased requirements on student achievement and penalties if they fell short.

Indiana is the only state with a condition placed on its waiver from the law as a result of a monitoring inspection. Other states with conditions received those when they were granted the waiver, according to the U.S. DOE.

The notice has increased tensions between Ritz and the State Board of Education. Some board members have criticized Ritz for not informing them earlier about concerns of federal monitors.

The state department has until June 30 to show it corrected the noncompliance issues to be eligible for a one year extension of the waiver.

Among the issues are teacher and principal evaluations and how the the department supports and monitors failing schools. The department also has to demonstrate the recently adopted K-12 academic standards that replaced the Common Core are supported by state higher education officials.

Ritz has said she is confident in the waiver will be extended based on department's work since the federal monitoring visit last August.

Indiana was one of the first states that received an NCLB flexibility waiver in February 2012 under former state Superintendent Tony Bennett. Reforms championed by Bennett, such as the adoption of Common Core academic standards and teacher evaluations, were vital to the waiver approval.